Letters to the Editor - March 13, 2014

Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 9:02 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 9:02 p.m.

Big salaries raise costs

Don't believe politicians who tell you that Obamacare is entirely to blame for rising health care premiums. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, so they raise premiums when claims and medical expenses rise. They also like to reward their executives.

According to a recent StarNews article, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C.'s top 10 executives netted more than $13 million in compensation last year; each getting an annual pay increase. Several raises exceeded $100,000. The Affordable Care Act seeks to curb the growth of premiums by controlling the avarice of insurance companies.

Don't believe politicians who tell you Obamacare is socialism. If it were, then auto insurance would be socialism as well. After all, everyone who owns a car is required to have insurance with rates overseen by government agencies. Of course, we could choose not to require it, but that wouldn't be very good for our economy (or very practical) now would it?

I much prefer to pay for health insurance … where I get something in return. After having two worthless health insurance policies, and fighting with a reputable insurance company whose goal seemed to be finding ways to deny preventive care claims, I welcomed becoming Medicare eligible.

Not so silent

I find it very strange that ours is called the "Silent Generation" ("Millenials less religious, more liberal," StarNews –March 8.)

We were among the ones who took to the streets, chanted slogans, and sang songs to end discrimination in the U.S.

We took to the streets again to protest against the war in Vietnam. We then made our voices heard in attempts to gain equal rights for women – less successfully, but nonetheless, vocally – and in marches and demonstrations. While this wasn't the reaction of all of our generation, it did happen in our time, and wasn't the least bit "silent." How odd that social scientists would think of us this way.

Tanya Suarez, Wilmington

Taking advantage

The largest seller of sub-prime mortgages was Countrywide Financial. None of them were subject to Community Investment Act encouragement, and none were sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. They went directly to Wall Street financial giants, which were taking advantage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act enacted in 2000.

The law exempted most derivatives and credit default swaps from regulation. The typical integrity of these Wall Street players was exposed by Goldman Sachs leaders, who famously testified before a congressional committee that their admittedly deceptive marketing practices were not egregious enough to constitute prosecutable fraud. Those few states which enforced strong mortgage lending regulations – such as Texas – escaped most of the negative consequences of the housing bubble crash of 2007-08.

It would be difficult to identify any Fortune 500 company that pays a 35 percent corporate tax rate. And the low prices charged by big-box stores are subsidized at the cost of lives shortened or lost – as with garment workers in Bangladesh and elsewhere – substandard working conditions, environmental damage, and poverty-level wages paid to many workers at these stores.

The lives and health of all of us could be improved at lower costs if we had Medicare for all, with its (single-digit) overhead … rather than allowing private insurance companies to skim 20 percent under Obamacare. …

<p class="bold allcaps">Big salaries raise costs</p>
<p>Don't believe politicians who tell you that Obamacare is entirely to blame for rising health care premiums. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, so they raise premiums when claims and medical expenses rise. They also like to reward their executives. </p><p>According to a recent StarNews article, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C.'s top 10 executives netted more than $13 million in compensation last year; each getting an annual pay increase. Several raises exceeded $100,000. The Affordable Care Act seeks to curb the growth of premiums by controlling the avarice of insurance companies. </p><p>Don't believe politicians who tell you Obamacare is socialism. If it were, then auto insurance would be socialism as well. After all, everyone who owns a car is required to have insurance with rates overseen by government agencies. Of course, we could choose not to require it, but that wouldn't be very good for our economy (or very practical) now would it?</p><p>I much prefer to pay for health insurance … where I get something in return. After having two worthless health insurance policies, and fighting with a reputable insurance company whose goal seemed to be finding ways to deny preventive care claims, I welcomed becoming Medicare eligible. </p><p>Unlike insurance companies, Medicare can't raise premiums in order to pay executives outrageous salaries.</p><p><i></p><p>Karen E. Dolan, Bolivia</p><p></i></p><h3>Not so silent</h3>
<p>I find it very strange that ours is called the "Silent Generation" ("Millenials less religious, more liberal," StarNews –March 8.)</p><p>We were among the ones who took to the streets, chanted slogans, and sang songs to end discrimination in the U.S. </p><p>We took to the streets again to protest against the war in Vietnam. We then made our voices heard in attempts to gain equal rights for women – less successfully, but nonetheless, vocally – and in marches and demonstrations. While this wasn't the reaction of all of our generation, it did happen in our time, and wasn't the least bit "silent." How odd that social scientists would think of us this way.</p><p><i>Tanya Suarez, Wilmington</i></p><h3>Taking advantage</h3>
<p>The largest seller of sub-prime mortgages was Countrywide Financial. None of them were subject to Community Investment Act encouragement, and none were sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. They went directly to Wall Street financial giants, which were taking advantage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act enacted in 2000. </p><p>The law exempted most derivatives and credit default swaps from regulation. The typical integrity of these Wall Street players was exposed by Goldman Sachs leaders, who famously testified before a congressional committee that their admittedly deceptive marketing practices were not egregious enough to constitute prosecutable fraud. Those few states which enforced strong mortgage lending regulations – such as Texas – escaped most of the negative consequences of the housing bubble crash of 2007-08.</p><p>It would be difficult to identify any Fortune 500 company that pays a 35 percent corporate tax rate. And the low prices charged by big-box stores are subsidized at the cost of lives shortened or lost – as with garment workers in Bangladesh and elsewhere – substandard working conditions, environmental damage, and poverty-level wages paid to many workers at these stores. </p><p>The lives and health of all of us could be improved at lower costs if we had Medicare for all, with its (single-digit) overhead … rather than allowing private insurance companies to skim 20 percent under Obamacare. …</p><p><i>Roland Moy, Kure Beach</i></p>